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PART 1: FIELD OF THE LOST
The party contacts Chiskisk and goes over the information they learned and are given further incentive to proceed to the Diaspora. Indigo immediately pulls out the sheet for the Sunrise Maiden and says ‘I bet this starts with a ship fight, right? We aren’t going anywhere until we upgrade the ship.’
Event 1: A Rude Welcome
[
Indigo makes the DC 16 Computers check (9 + 14 + 2) and spots the incoming ship
Sunrise Maiden is (6 + 2 + 4 + 5) 17 hexes away from the Rusty Rivet in a straight line with both ships facing each other dead on
ROLES: Rev – Captain, Keskkin – Pilot, Indigo – Science, Blackhand – Gunner
ROUND 1
Engineering
Rev takes the Taunt Captain action and contacts the enemy ship belittling their woeful attempt at stealth and indicating they probably
can’t shoot for crap either (selects Gunnery phase) and rolls (14 + 11 + 1) against DC 23 succeeding and will last 3 rounds
Alera takes the Taunt action as well and says they won’t have to shoot well since you’re flying that thing like… rolls a (1 + 15)… a big ‘ole
rock.
DM NOTE: Yep, I’m off and running in the great roll department. ☹
Helm
Zekanoya’s initial piloting check (10 + 11 + 1) is 22
Keskkin’s initial piloting check (12 + 14 + 1) is 27
The Rusty Rivet moves 10 spaces straight ahead
Indigo Scans the enemy ship rolling (14 + 14 + 2) against DC 18 earning him Basic Information, Defenses, and Weapons information
which he broadcasts to the rest of the group, emphasizing ‘guys, they have a turret too, but no weapon aft and the turret range
is short’ and then says he’ll be switching to Engineer next phase.
Keskkin attempts the Back Off stunt, rolling (19 + 14 + 1) against DC 20 allowing the Sunrise Maiden to move back 5 spaces
The ships have 12 hexes between them and are still facing each other dead on
Gunnery
Korrina fires the Rusty Rivet’s light particle beam (8 + 10 + 1 - 2 - 2) and misses
Blackhand fires the Sunrise Maiden’s turret (12 + 5 + 3 + 2) and hits for (4 + 4 + 6 + 8 + 5) 27 on the forward shield, dropping it and doing
12 HP damage
Indigo says to Keskkin ‘try to stay in their aft arc while varying the exposed shield and we’re going to need a second gunner Rev’. This
starts a brief, humorous argument when Rev complains that she is the captain. Indigo points out a second weapon is probably
going to be more valuable than a bonus to a roll and that she can consider all this ‘suggestions’ from the Science officer.
ROUND 2
Engineering
Q4 uses the Divert action to repair 7 points of the forward shield
Indigo uses Divert (13 + 14) against DC 20 and sends the power to the engines
Helm
Zekanoya’s initial piloting check (16 + 11 + 1) is 28
Keskkin’s initial piloting check (14 + 14 + 1) is 29
DM NOTE: Going first is bad, and I feel I won’t be able to keep them from getting another shot on the forward shield, but I try
Zekanoya attempts to Evade (13 + 11 + 1) against DC 18 and the Rusty Rivet turns left, moves 4, turns left, and moves 6
The Sunrise Maiden moves 9, turns right, and moves 3
The ships have 6 hexes between them with the Sunrise Maiden directly aft of the Rusty Rivet giving chase
Gunnery
Alera uses Demand on Korrina (8 + 15 + 1) granting a +4 bonus on the attack
Korrina fires the Rusty Rivet’s turret (2 + 10 + 1 + 4 - 2 - 2) and still misses
Blackhand fires his turret (7 + 5 + 3 + 2) hitting for (8 + 2 + 3 + 6 + 6) 25 points on the aft shield, dropping it and dealing 10 HP damage
which crosses the CT for the first time (2) and causing the life support system to glitch
Rev fires the forward coilgun (14 + 5 + 5 + 2) hitting for (2 + 4 + 2 + 4) 12 points of HP damage crossing the second CT threshold (64)
which glitches the engines. Alera signals her surrender and the party agrees to meet.
]
DM NOTE: Does the module not assume the party will upgrade their ship? This fight seemed *very* lopsided.
The Rusty Rivet
There is a lot of discussion after Alera surrenders about how to ensure they do not later betray the group. Indigo suggests taking their ship, but they are unsure about the details of handling two ships. Blackhand suggests sabotage of a vital system so that they will lack the ability to come after them later. Indigo agrees and they discuss for a while but reach no immediate decision and decide to wait until boarding the other ship. I make some handwavey decisions about allowing Alera to turn over control of her ships computer to Indigo who can tie it in to the Sunrise Maiden so the pirates can’t blast them as soon as they exit their ship. They go over to the ship, Blackhand searches and disarms the pirates, and Rev immediately takes a secret liking to Alera, but externally she’s all business and trading jab for jab and some pretty well done role-playing over several minutes which I wish I had been documenting it. Blackhand chimes in threateningly when Rev calls for it, and the entire pirate crew is impressed with Keskkin both as a Mystic and with his obvious ability as a pilot. They quickly decide to blame their loss on divine interference, which makes Keskkin chuckle. Alera takes enough of a liking to Rev’s banter that I allow Blackhand’s only true threat to slide without rolling. Rev quickly presses Alera for more money when they offer up a bounty and rolls (12 + 11) on the DC 16 Diplomacy check. The group goes through all of the information the pirates have to offer and wait until the very end to implement their “insurance”. Rev nods at Blackhand and Indigo and together they go to one of the control consoles and damage it, with Blackhand using his Solarian weapon to do so for the added intimidation factor, if any, he says. They choose to cripple the shield system, which makes me wonder until Rev chimes in as Alera angrily protests.
“Hey, what’s the big idea? You going back on our bargain?”
“Not at all,” says Rev, “we agreed to let you and your ship go, you made no requests about the condition of your ship, so we’re adding a little touch to make sure you don’t come back later. This leaves you with an obvious quandary. You could tuck tail and head back to Broken Rock and send us a little payback in short order probably. But then, you’d have to explain the damage to your ship, and only the truth will get anyone out here, but it will come at the price of what little reputation you have and probably questions about your ability to do your job out here. Or you can stay out here and conduct your own repairs which will take…”
“48 hours at least,” Indigo says quietly (after rolling 1d4 and getting a 2)
“… of course, you probably have a little bolt hole in one these rocks somewhere to keep supplies and whatever you manage to steal from the less fortunate that wander in here. But even then, you’re looking at…”
“36 hours maybe,” Indigo adds (after asking me about modifiers for such things) then studies Q4, “probably 32 assuming that Q4 here is more than competent at his job.”
DM NOTE: All of those numbers were on-the-fly made up by me… there may be actual repair rules that cover all this more accurately.
“… but you’ll suffer no reputation loss and be able to head back to Broken Rock with reports of ships tangling with cultists… after cleaning up whatever we can’t carry away with us.”
Alera looks to Q4 for confirmation and gets it. “You’re a shrewd Captain, Revara,” Alera says in response to this. “I’ll be more than happy to see your thrusters fading into the darkness as soon as possible.” This gives the party no indication of which course she will choose, which is intentional on my part. Indigo asks if he can set the Sunrise Maiden’s AI to track their ship while they investigate the asteroid, but I don’t find anything indicating that. We settle on a proximity alert if any ship gets within a mile of the asteroid.
A. Asteroid K9204
As the party approaches the landing site, I immediately get the two questions I expect and start to look through the rules. The questions are these: First, can the ship take an image of the landing site and nearby traversable area for study? Second, can the ships sensors detect any life forms? I decide to give them an un-notated copy of the area map and allow anyone who wants to try, to use the sensors to make a Perception check. After reading the areas, I determine that only A1 has anything that could be discerned from above. Rev tries first rolling (18 + 12 + 2) against Yex’s Stealth roll of (13 + 17), so they know he is there and they decide to head there first.
A1. Sniper’s Cove
The party spots the stairs and decide to split up to cover both with Blackhand and Rev heading north east and Indigo, Keskkin, and the Drone heading north west. I roll a 1d4 for target (1=Blackhand, 2=Rev, 3=Indigo, 4=Keskkin) and get a 2, but no surprise round thanks to the earlier scan.
[
PC Init : Rev 31, Keskkin 24, Blackhand 10, Indigo 7
NPC Init 19
Round 1
Rev takes two move actions, moving to the eastern stairs and 1 space up them
Keskkin takes two move actions moving part way into the area
The Sniper attacks Rev (who is only 70 feet away from current position) rolling (3 + 12) which misses
He tries to hide again rolling (7 + 17 - 20) for a whopping 4 (DM NOTE: That Sniping Stealth penalty is brutal!)
Blackhand enters Photon mode and takes two move actions and moves to the base of the eastern stairs
Indigo moves and moves the Drone, both moving only three squares into area A1
Round 2
Rev rolls Perception (15 + 12) easily beating the 4 from above, but she is still on the stairs and not close enough to try an attack, so she moves up
the stairs and west toward the Sniper’s location
Keskkin takes two move actions and ends up still 10 feet away from the north western stairs
The Sniper shoots at Rev again (10 + 12) just barely hitting for (3 + 1 + 5) 9 damage
He moves and tries to hide again (13 + 17 - 20) getting a 10
Blackhand moves most of the way up the eastern stairs with two move actions
Indigo and the Drone again move 30 feet
Round 3
Rev rolls Perception (6 + 12) again beating the previous Stealth roll. She decides to try a Trick attack and moves the full 50 feet, rolls Stealth (14 +
18) succeeding and attacks (13 + 9) which misses thanks to partial cover (partial because she has moved partly past what should be considered the direction the cover would be facing)
Keskkin asks about jumping because he was apparently the only one that heard the low gravity description and here we pause for some lengthy
rules research.
DM NOTE: How do others handle vertical jumps? It’s not purely vertical… you have to move forward at least 5 feet to land, so is that
assumed? That’s how we handle it in Pathfinder. From the look of the map, there is more than 5 feet of horizontal space
between a take off point and landing point, so is this jump invalid, even in low gravity (cool factor just went out the window if
so). I try applying the low gravity modifiers… 40 feet up would be 13 feet for low gravity and 20 feet horizontal would be 7 feet
for low gravity so maybe doable? But even at 13 feet, that’s a DC of 52. I guess I now know why no one has ever attempted a
vertical jump in Pathfinder.
Keskkin uses two move actions to move part way up the western stairs.
DM NOTE: What to do? Take another shot and then try to surprise someone with Trick Attack? Activate Cloaking Field and head down Keskkin’s
stairs to try and sneak by?
The Sniper drops the rifle, draws the sword, and moves adjacent to Rev. (Well crap Rev says when she realizes the thing is Large)
Blackhand realizes he is too far to move and then charge, mostly due to the stairs being difficult terrain, so he takes two move actions and ends
up 20 feet away from the enemy
Indigo and the Drone again move 30 feet and are still 20 feet away from the base of the stairs.
Round 4
Rev takes a guarded step back and draws her tactical baton
Keskkin moves to the top of the stairs and casts a 2nd level Mind Thrust at the Sniper for (6 + 8 + 2 + 10) 26 and he rolls (2 + 8) failing the save.
The Sniper attempts trick attack against Rev (oh the irony!) moving forward 5 feet, rolling (10 + 17) on the Stealth check which succeeds
attacking (10 + 10) which hits thanks to flat-footed for (3 + 7 + 6 + 1 + 5) 22 (Ouch! says Rev)
Blackhand activates Plasma Sheath and uses Stellar Rush rolling (9 + 11) which barely hits for (6 + 10 + 2 + 1) 19 damage
Indigo and the Drone begin the long climb up the western stairs
Round 5
Rev makes a brave move and takes a diagonal guarded step to put her on the opposite side of the Sniper from Blackhand. She chooses to fight
defensively and rolls (11 + 8 - 4) which misses
Keskkin shoots at the Sniper (9 + 8) but misses
The Sniper attempts trick attack against Rev, does not move, rolls (6 + 17) on the Stealth check which fails, attacks (5 + 10) and misses
Blackhand attacks (17 + 11) which hits for (1 + 10 + 2 + 1) 14 damage
Indigo and the Drone continue climbing
Round 6
Rev continues to fight defensively and attacks (11 + 8 - 4 + 2) which misses
Keskkin shoots (16 + 8) and hits for (6) damage ending the fight much to Rev’s relief
]
Rev takes a 10 minute breather before the group does anything else. Then the party searches the area thoroughly and makes all rolls in the treasure section. I note that the fight took more than 3 rounds, to which Blackhand shrugs and says “it only took a few rounds once we got to him.” As a side note, the range on the sniper rifle didn’t matter past the opening attack. Is there some unspoken assumption here that the party won’t use the sensors as the ship comes in? That seems obvious in a space/technology type setting, no?
A2. Skreeling Hive
[
PC Init : Rev 28, Indigo 17, Keskkin 12, Blackhand 9
NPC Init 19, 23, 9
NPC Stealth rolls 34, 38, 29
PC Perception rolls Rev 30, Indigo 14, Keskkin 20, Blackhand 9
Surprise Round
Rev fires at Skreeling 3 (11 + 9) and hits for (6 + 2) 8 damage
Skreeling 2 attacks Blackhand (19 + 9) and hits for (2 + 4) 6 points
Skreeling 1 moves adjacent to Blackhand
Skreeling 3 moves adjacent to Blackhand
Round 1
Rev attempts Trick Attack, does not move, rolls Stealth (7 + 18), attacks Skreeling 3 (10 + 9) and hits for (3 + 2 + 1 + 4 + 4) 14 damage and flat-
footed
Skreeling 2 attacks Blackhand (5 + 9 + 2 + 1) but misses
Skreeling 1 attacks Blackhand (11 + 9 + 1) and hits for (3 + 4) 7 damage and 1 bleed
Indigo fires at Skreeling 3 (4 + 8) and hits thanks to flat-footed for (2 + 5) 7 points
Drone fires at Skreeling 3 (7 + 6) and also hits for (1 + 5) 6 damage
Keskkin moves and fires at Skreeling 1 (3 + 8) and misses
Blackhand takes 1 bleed damage, enters Photon mode and attacks Skreeling 3 (4 + 11) and misses
DM NOTE: Hmmm, maybe my bad roll luck is rubbing off on them?
Round 2
Rev attempts Trick Attack, moves into a position to fire on Skreeling 1, rolls Stealth (13 + 18), attacks (8 + 9) hitting for (2 + 2 + 4 + 5 + 5) 18
damage
Skreeling 2 attacks Blackhand (1 + 9 + 2 + 1) and mises
Skreeling 1 takes a guarded step, attacks Blackhand (14 + 9 + 2 + 1) and hits for (3 + 4) 7 damage and 1 bleed
Indigo moves and fires at Skreeling 1 (18 + 8) and hits for (5 + 5) 10 points
Drone fires at Skreeling 1 (12 + 6) and hits for (6 + 5)
Keskkin moves and fires at Skreeling 2 (12 + 8) and hits for (5) 5 damage
Blackhand takes 1 bleed damage, attacks Skreeling 1 (7 + 11) and misses
Round 3
Rev attempts Trick Attack, moves 20 feet to get a shot on Skreeling 2, rolls Stealth (18 + 18), fires (13 + 9) and hits for (10 + 2 + 5 + 6 + 8) 31
points!
]
Blackhand uses a short rest before the party moves on.
A3. Skreesire’s Lair
[
PC Init : Rev 31, Indigo 23, Blackhand 8, Keskkin 7
NPC Init 20
First Enthrall Attempt
Skreesire targets (1) Rev who rolls (12 + 6) against DC 17 and then announces she was just attacked mentally
The party spreads out to find the attacker with Blackhand and Rev going north around the area with the secret door and Indigo and Keskkin
going south
Second Enthrall Attempt
Skreesire targets (4) Blackhand who rolls (1 + 6) and fails so he heads to toward the pool ahead of Rev who quickly determines he’s acting weird
DM NOTE: The pool is only 5 feet deep, so I allowed Perception checks to spot the thing before the surprise round even though Camouflage is in effect
NPC Stealth: (18 + 24 + 10) 52 DM NOTE: Never mind, no one can beat that so I let the roll and no one spots it
Surprise Round
Skreesire attempts to grab Blackhand (3 + 15) and fails and now everyone spots it
Round 1
Rev attempts Trick Attack, moves to the right next to the wall (Blackhand was blocking), rolls Stealth (12 + 18), attacks (15 + 9) and hits for (3 + 2
+ 2 + 1 + 8) 0 damage which causes Rev to curse
DM NOTE: Rev asks about drawing a weapon as part of a Trick Attack which I say no to, but admittedly there is argument to be had there
Indigo fires (5 + 8) but misses
Drone fires (4 + 6) but misses
Skreesire attempts to grab Blackhand again (7 + 15) and misses
DM NOTE: Both the Skreesire and Blackhand are adjacent to the low wall, so they both ignore it?
Blackhand enters photon mode, activates Plasma Sheath, attacks (10 + 11), and hits for (7 + 10 + 1 + 2) 20 damage
DM NOTE: There are a few places in the rules where “considered magic for purposes of overcoming damage reduction” shows up, but unlike in
Pathfinder, I see no list indicating a fusion tier equates to a DR type, so I think it just means it overcomes DR X/magic. But since Plasma
Sheath is active, it’s a moot point anyway
Keskkin wants to try IDing the creature, I find no action listed for it so I let him and he rolls (1 + 9) which fails anyway
Keskkin fires (18 + 8) and hits for (5)
Round 2
Rev sheaths her Disintegrator and draws her Arc Pistol
Indigo fires (20 + 8) and crits for (4 + 5 + 8 + 5) 22 damage and burning
Drone fires (20 + 6) and also crits for (10 + 5 + 2 + 5) 22 damage and more burning
Skreesire takes (1 + 4) 5 burn damage, attacks Blackhand (5 + 15) and misses yet again ☹, it rolls (4 + 6) and (17 + 6) against the burn
conditions, ending one of them
Blackhand attacks (17 + 11) and hits for (1 + 10 + 1 + 2) 14 damage
Keskkin shoots (18 + 8) and hits for (5)
Round 3
Rev attempts Trick Attack, does not move, rolls Stealth (7 + 18) which fails!, attacks (17 + 9), hitting for (5 + 2) which ends the fight anyway
]
The party identifies the holy symbol and the age of the corpse, and soon find the secret door as well, but they move to check the remaining surface areas first
A4. Cultist’s Demise
The medicine check is made on the corpses and the Perception rolls are made while searching them.
A5. Shard Filled Slope
Again, all rolls made and Blackhand asks about using the ore to make a weapon, which we decide to look up when the time comes. The group heads back to the ship to store some of the new items, refresh batteries, and rest up before tackling the area beyond the secret door.
PART 2: THE VANISHED CULT
B. The Star-Eater’s Spine
B1. Foyer of the Void
Rev approaches the door alone and fails the Perception (7 + 12) check on the trap but succeeds (20 + 6) at the Will save when the trap is triggered. Indigo then disables the vents (18 + 14) before the party opens the doors.
B2. Operations Terminal
Indigo hacks the computer terminal (16 + 14), then accesses the “Entrance Deterrent” module (13 + 14) but disabling it does little good at this point. The “Chamber of Devouring” module is accessed next (19 + 14) and also disabled.
B3. Chamber of Devouring
Rev makes the Culture check (12 + 10) to identify the tattered outfit. There is some brief discussion amongst the party about the continued “plague of undead”. I remind them this is the Corpse Fleet and not Eox in general, but they seem little interested in the difference. Rev makes a follow up Culture check (19 + 10) and learns all of the available information outlined in the module.
B4. Access Corridors
The party moves to the northeast end of this hallway after determining it wraps around the entire central room and open the door there.
B6. Living Quarters
B6c.
Rev spots the key card (9 + 12). While Rev and Indigo discuss what it might access, Blackhand makes the mistake of stepping into the Armory…
B7. Armory
[
PC Init : Blackhand 26, Rev 24, Keskkin 14, Indigo 8
NPC Init 9, 16
Jolting Arc rolls: 1, 4
Round 1
Blackhand enters Photon Mode, activates Plasma Sheath, and steps back into the room (square east of “c”) while alerting the party to the
presence of the robots
Rev moves to the southeast corner of the room and draws her arc pistol
Robot 2 moves through the door…
Blackhand takes an attack of opportunity reaction (19 + 11) and hits for (7 + 10 + 2 + 1) 20 damage
…attacks Blackhand (4 + 10) but misses
Keskkin (who is in front of the door to the room) casts Shooting Stars as a full round action for (2 + 3 + 3 + 3) 11 points
Robot 1 moves into the room and along the wall ending up adjacent to Rev, attacks her (9 + 10) but misses
Indigo draws his rifle and shoots at Robot 1 (1 + 8) and misses
The Drone is in the hallway and is left there
Round 2
Blackhand attacks Robot 2 (17 + 11) and hits for (8 + 10 + 2 + 1) 21 damage
DM NOTE: Rev decides to eat an AoO
Rev attempts Trick Attack, moves 10 feet west…
Robot 1 takes an attack of opportunity (10 + 10) and misses
…rolls Stealth (19 + 18), attacks (18 + 9) and hits for ((6 + 2 + 2 + 5 + 5) +50%) 30 damage
Keskkin casts Shooting Stars as a full round action for (3 + 4 + 3 + 3) 13 points
Robot 1 uses Jolting Arc for (5) 5 damage
Rev rolls (3 + 9) failing the save and taking 5 damage
Blackhand rolls (4 + 3) failing the save and taking 5 damage
Indigo rolls (16 + 8) taking 2 damage
Keskkin rolls (8 + 5) and takes 2 damage
Indigo fires (5 + 8) but misses
Round 3
Blackhand attacks (13 + 11) and hits for (4 + 10 + 2 + 1) 17 damage
]
The party does not rest before continuing their exploration, but they do search the Armory
B6b.
Indigo unlocks the dresser (4 + 14). It is in this room that Rev looks at the writing and makes the Culture check (11 + 10) and then Keskkin makes the Mysticism check (13 + 13) to recall the reference
B6a.
After finding nothing in this room, the party moves into room 5.
B5. North Mess
The party passes on spending any time yet making use of the food here. While searching this room, Blackhand spots movement from B11 and steps into that room, once again starting combat with the rest of the group lost in discussion. The Veolisk failed a similar Perception check to notice the party. Yeah, I rolled a 1.
B11. Datacore
[
PC Init : Rev 28, Blackhand 16, Keskkin 15, Indigo 10
NPC Init 13
The Velisk is along the eastern wall in line with “B11” on the map
Round 1
Rev draws her disintegrator and moves up behind Blackhand
Blackhand enters Photon mode, activates Plasma Sheath, uses Stellar Rush (16 + 11) hitting for (5 + 10 + 2 + 1) 18 damage
Keskkin passes
DM NOTE: So the wording of Void Gaze seems kind of weird. Does the confusion last until the beginning of the target’s next turn or the
Veolisk’s? I go with the latter because otherwise, the thing could never confuse those acting on a faster init
The Veolisk takes a guarded step to the west and uses Void Gaze on Rev who rolls (16 + 6) on the save
Indigo moves to the south wall of B5
The Drone moves to the south wall of B5 to the west of Indigo
Round 2
Rev attempts Trick Attack moving into the room and west along the northern wall to the corner, rolls Stealth (3 + 18) which fails!, attacks (3 + 9)
which misses
Blackhand attacks (14 + 11) and hits for (8 + 10 + 2 + 1) 21! max damage
Keskkin moves into the room and along the northern wall next to Rev and casts a 2nd level Mind Thrust for (2 + 7 + 7 + 6) 22 damage which the
Veolisk (1 + 5) fails to save against
Veolisk attacks Blackhand (11 + 17) hitting for (2 + 11) 13 points
Indigo moves into the room and one space west of the doorway and fires (1 + 8) and misses
The Drone moves just into the room
Round 3
Rev attempts Trick Attack, does not move, rolls Stealth (9 + 18), attacks (2 + 9) which misses
Blackhand attacks (11 + 11) and hits for (3 + 10 + 2 + 1) 16 damage
Keskkin shoots (18 + 8) and hits for (7) 7 damage
Veolisk attacks Blackhand (17 + 17) and hits for (8 + 11) 19 damage
Indigo shoots (4 + 8) and misses
Drone shoots (18 + 6) and hits for (2 + 5) 7 damage
]
Blackhand takes a short rest while the rest of the party discusses the computer equipment. They quickly decide to clear the rest of the level before messing with anything or thoroughly searching the room though.
B8. South Mess
Fortitude saves: Rev (5 + 5), Blackhand (20 + 7), Keskkin (13 + 3), Indigo (14 + 6). The party waits until Rev recovers before moving on.
B6d.
Rev makes the Perception check (14 + 12) to find the datapad and credits. Indigo hacks it easily (19 + 14) and makes the (can’t fail) Perception check (6 + 10) to notice the video file which they then all watch. Keskkin makes the Mysticism check (16 + 13) to recall the information about Nyara
B6e.
After finding nothing in this room, the party moves into room 9.
B9. Trapped Quarters
Rev makes the Perception check (18 + 12) to notice the trap and Indigo makes the Engineering check (9 + 14) to disable it.
Treasure: Brown Force Field, Mk I Electrostatic Field, bleeding fusion seal (6th), vicious fusion seal (5th)
B10. Arsenal
Rev makes the Perception check (15 + 12) to find the device, Keskkin fails the Mysticism check (10 + 13) but Indigo makes the Engineering check (20 + 14) to identify it, and finally Rev makes the Culture check (20 + 10) to learn where necrotech comes from. They all look at me like I’m stating the obvious though. They discuss the undead again and then return to B11.
B11. Datacore
When they start to mess with the datacore, Indigo immediately realizes why the video file is important and starts using it to help hack the computer. Indigo makes the initial Computers check (10 + 14 + 5) and then relates the contents of the ‘Activities’ module. Indigo then hacks the ‘Intelligence’ module (10 + 14 + 5) and relays that information. Lastly he hacks the ‘Sacred Lore’ module (10 + 14 + 5) and the party spends a fair amount of time discussing that information and the rest before gathering up their loot and heading to the ship. Indigo spends some time fixing a few broken items before they rest and head off to Eox. The groups also stops here for the day
Event 2: Corpse Fleet Ambush
[
Indigo makes the DC 11 Engineering check (18 + 14) to identify the ships and Rev makes the Culture check (10 + 10) to identify the insignia.
“Why am I not surprised,” says Indigo
“To &%*# with surrender from these guys,” adds Blackhand
Sunrise Maiden is (4 + 6 + 4 + 5) 19 hexes away from the undead ships facing F and the undead ships are facing D and the two necrogliders are 1 hex
apart
DM NOTE: Sorry, F and D facing are SFB terms… player ship is heading NW and the undead are heading south
ROLES: Rev – Gunner, Keskkin – Pilot, Indigo – Science, Blackhand – Gunner
ROUND 1
Engineering
Helm
BT 1 initial piloting check (5 + 11) is 16
BT 2 initial piloting check (2 + 11) is 13
Keskkin’s initial piloting check (17 + 14 + 1) is 32
BT 1 and BT 2 both move 12 spaces forward
Indigo Scans the enemy ship rolling (9 + 14 + 2) against DC 18 earning him Basic Information, Defenses, and Weapons information and
says he’ll switch to Engineering
Keskkin turns the Sunrise Maiden right and moves 1 leaving 7 hexes between the closing ships
Gunnery
BT 1 uses the Snap Shot action (16 + 5 - 2 - 2) and misses
BT 2 uses the Snap Shot action (11 + 5 - 2 - 2) and misses
Blackhand fires the Sunrise Maiden’s turret (14 + 5 + 3 + 2) at BT 1 and hits for (2 + 6 + 7 + 4 + 5) 24 on the forward shield, dropping it
and doing 21 HP damage which glitches the (77) engines and (47) weapons
Rev fires the forward coilgun (15 + 5 + 5 + 2) at BT 1 dealing (4 + 3 + 2 + 1) 10 damage destroying the ship
DM NOTE: Yeah, I don’t think we were supposed to upgrade the ship.
ROUND 2
Engineering
Indigo uses Divert (19 + 14) against DC 20 and sends the power to the weapons
Helm
BT 2 initial piloting check (16 + 11) is 27
Keskkin’s initial piloting check (3 + 14 + 1) is 18
Keskkin moves the Sunrise Maiden forward 1 hex
BT 2 attempts to Evade (4 + 11) and moves forward 1 space leaving 4 hexes between the ships and they are offset by 1 hex
Gunnery
BT 2 attempts Snap Shot (12 + 3) and misses
Blackhand fires his turret (19 + 5 + 3 + 2) hitting for (5 + 3 + 8 + 3 + 5) 24 points on the forward shield, dropping it and dealing 21 HP
damage glitching the (54) weapons and (71) engines
Rev fires the forward coilgun (8 + 5 + 5 + 2) hitting for (4 + 4 + 2 + 2) 12 points of HP damage destroying the second ship
]
The party doesn’t even attempt to retrieve the pilots and instead leaves them drifting in space. Blackhand briefly considers trying to target them with the ships weapons though.
PART 3: PLANET OF THE DEAD
Transmission From Chiskisk
The party communicates with Chiskisk and also level during the trip. They ask all the questions covered in the module save one; ‘Is Eox safe for us’. After levelling during the trip, the party immediately wants to go shopping when they get to Eox. Undead hatred aside, they are more than willing to patronize the shops to get what they want, but they do decide to visit the Ministry first.
C. Ministry Of Eternal Vigilance
The Waiting Room
The party seems amused by the “take a number” bit and decide to play along accordingly, despite grumblings from Blackhand. Rev immediately and enthusiastically starts up a conversation with Shan. She makes the Sense Motive check (7 + 14) and gets friendlier with the man, rolling (19 + 12) on the Diplomacy check to improve his attitude. She continues the conversation and gets as much information as she can from him before he’s called to Waneda’s desk.
Meeting The Director
When the party is greeted coldly by Waneda, Rev again adopts a cheerful attitude and dives into conversation with the ghoul. She makes the Diplomacy check (18 + 12) by enough to make Waneda indifferent and puts in the time to carry her to friendly. But of course, the party is not on good terms with Nor, so some information is not available to them, nor do they get the monetary aid. Following their lengthy conversation with Waneda, the party heads immediately for the shops.
D. Gentlesage’s Necrografts & Sundries
Once again Rev cheerfully interacts with the undead here, however she fails the Diplomacy check (11 + 12) which robs me of any foreshadowing opportunity. The entire party dives into personal upgrade shopping here and spends most of the money they have on those items.
E. Bonesmith’s Boutique
With no prompting whatsoever, Rev immediately compliments Jaklyn on her hat. She does not, however go far enough to trigger a Diplomacy roll for the store discount, mostly because Blackhand is starting to grumble over the inactivity. Indigo picks up a new weapon for the Drone here and Blackhand is further frustrated by being a level short of picking up the weapon upgrade he’s been looking for. Once outside the store, they decide to check on Gretal’s report first, only because, as Keskkin puts it, ‘the thought of visiting a place called Fleshworn Fabrications gives me the heebie jeebies’.
F. Pensioner’s Flat
Indigo realizes immediately that the door has been forced and the party adopts a combat posture when they hear the tone of the voices inside. Blackhand quickly enters and rounds the corner into the other room, sees the insignia on the ghouls uniforms, and says “oh look, undead we won’t get in trouble for putting down.”
[
PC Init : Blackhand 27, Rev 24, Keskkin 21, Indigo 20
NPC Init 23, 9, 13
Round 1
Blackhand enters Photon mode and moves to the “F” square which puts him adjacent to all the ghouls who were lined up in front of the couch
(1, 2, 3 from west to east) interrogating Gretal. He attacks Ghoul 1 (19 + 13) and hits for (4 + 12 + 1) 17 damage.
Rev attempts trick attack, moves into the room and west along the northern wall, rolls Stealth (5 + 20), shoots at Ghoul 1 (10 + 11), and hits for
(2 + 3 + 5 + 4 + 7) 21 points
Ghoul 1 tries to bite Blackhand (3 + 12) but misses
Keskkin moves into the room and moves to the east wall north of the other door, shoots at Ghoul 3 (14 + 10), and hits for (2) 2 damage
Indigo moves just inside the room and fires at Ghoul 1 (8 + 10) hitting for (3 + 4 + 6) 13 damage
The Drone stays in the northern room
DM NOTE: So at this point they are supposed to surrender, but when I have them offer to do that, Blackhand scowls at everyone and says “don’t
even think about it”, so I have them flee
Ghoul 3 withdraws toward the door…
Blackhand takes an AoO (16 + 13) and hits for (5 + 12 + 1) 13 damage
… and stops adjacent to the closed door
Ghoul 2 moves adjacent to Ghoul 3 and opens the door
Round 2
Blackhand takes a Guarded Step east which puts him adjacent to Ghoul 2 and 3 again, then attacks Ghoul 1 (16 + 13) and hits for (8 + 12 + 1) 21
Damage
Rev attempts Trick Attack, moves 1 square east, rolls Stealth (8 + 20), attacks Ghoul 3 (18 + 11), and hits for (9 + 3 + 3 + 7 + 6) 28 points
Keskkin shoots at Ghoul 3 (15 + 10) and hits for (5) 5 damage
Indigo shoots Ghoul 3 (8 + 10) and hits for (4 + 6 + 6) 16 damage
The Drone exits the northern room back onto the street and heads south ending up next to the small indent between the rooms
Ghoul 2 Withdraws through the door…
Blackhand takes an AoO (20 + 13) and crits! for (5 + 1 + 12 + 12 + 1 + 1) 32 damage and…
DM NOTE: This creates a rules moment… we double check that undead are not immune to crits… and then we discuss whether the
paralysis immunity cancels the Anchoring fusion on Blackhand’s weapon… immobilization is only mentioned in two places; the
fusion and a spell and neither make any mention of the term “paralysis”. There is no “Immobilized” in the conditions list, so we
have an item (and a spell) that creates a unique condition. This is the sort of hazy rules thing from Pathfinder that we expected
Starfinder to deal with. We decide to allow the fusion to work, since the ghoul can still act, just not move from it’s current space.
But we also find no mention of a save or DC for the Anchoring fusion… I’m starting to understand why he bought it.
Round 3
For the first time ever, Blackhand opts to make a Full Attack, attack one (12 + 13 - 4), and hits for (7 + 12 + 1) 20 damage and attacks again (9
+ 13 - 4) which barely hits for (8 + 12 + 1) 21 damage
]
“So that was pretty brutal guys, considering they tried to surrender,” I say.
“These guys have been hounding us from the beginning. Forgive me if I have zero sympathy not just for undead, but undead that have been rejected by the entire Pact system,” replies Blackhand.
Rev talks with Gretal while Blackhand drags the bodies into the street. Keskkin makes the Mysticism check (9 + 15) to recall information about a marrowblight. Rev and Keskkin agree to return to Waneda with this information today and investigate the second report tomorrow as it is late afternoon at this point. The others agree with a shrug and the party leaves. I decide to use Event 3 now, putting the ambushers in the alley between C and D.
Event 3: Tying Up Loose Ends
[
PC Init : Rev 26, Blackhand 23, Keskkin 20, Indigo 17
PC Perception Rolls: Rev 27, Blackhand 21, Keskkin 25, Indigo 32
NPC Init 6, 7
The Nihilis start in they alley which puts them 25 feet from the party
Surprise Round
Rev draws her disruptor pistol
Blackhand enters Photon mode and uses Steller Rush to move to Nihili 1 and attack (7 + 13), hitting for (2 + 12 + 1) 15 damage
Keskkin casts Shooting Stars at Nihili 1 for (3 + 4 + 2) 9 damage
Indigo draws his rifle
The Drone shoots at Nihili 2 (19 + 7) and hits for (5 + 4 + 6) 15 points
Nihili 2 takes a guarded step north (now 20 feet from the rest of the party) and attacks Blackhand (3 + 14) and misses
Nihili 1 attacks Blackhand (9 + 14) and hits for (1 + 10) 11 damage
Round 1
Rev attempts trick attack, moves forward 5 feet, rolls Stealth (20 + 20), attacks Nihili 2 (16 + 11), and hits for (6 + 3 + 5 + 4 + 8) 26 damage
Blackhand rolls (8 + 7) Fortitude save, activates Plasma Sheath, attacks Nihili 2 (14 + 13), and hits for (3 + 12 + 3 + 1) 19 damage
Keskkin casts Shooting Stars as a full round action at Nihili 2 for (3 + 4 + 1 + 3) 11 points
Indigo shoots at Nihili 2 (15 + 10) and hits for (3 + 5 + 6) 14 damage
The Drone does not shoot
Nihili 1 takes a guarded step to the space where Nihili 2 was and attacks Blackhand (7 + 14) which misses
Round 2
Rev rolls (18 + 7) Fortitude save, attempts Trick Attack, does not move, rolls Stealth (9 + 20), attacks (9 + 11), and hits for (5 + 3 + 8 + 3 + 2) 21
damage
Blackhand rolls (5 + 7) Fortitude save and takes (4 + 3) 7 damage, attacks (1 + 13) but misses
Keskkin casts Shooting Stars as a full round action for (1 + 2 + 1 + 3) 7 damage
Indigo shoots (17 + 10) and hits for (5 + 4 + 6) 15 damage
Drone shoots (3 + 7) and misses
Nihili takes a guarded step north and attacks Blackhand (3 + 14) and misses
Round 3
Rev rolls (5 + 7) Fortitude save and takes (4 + 3) 7 damage, attempts Trick Attack, does not move, rolls Stealth (16 + 20), attacks (20 + 11) which
crits! for (3 + 3 + 3 + 3 + 6 + 3 + 7 + 3 + 8 + 4) 43 damage DM NOTE: “Well, that was a total waste of a crit,” Rev says as soon as she rolls it
]
The party heads back to Waneda to follow up on their first investigation and discuss the Marrowblight. When Waneda gives a name and location for such a creature known to sympathize with the Corpse Fleet, Keskkin begins to get suspicious, but he doesn’t say anything until the group retires to their room for the night. He voices his concern to me via a note, but does not tell the party of his thoughts opting instead to wait until they follow up on the other report.
G. Fleshworn Fabrications
The next morning the party investigates the other report. Rev makes the roll (13 + 11) to identify the Corpse Fleet badge, though I lowered the DC to 10 at this point given how many of these things they’ve seen. Rev also brings up Shan when she talks with Voxel and rolls (14 + 12 + 4) on the Diplomacy check to improve his attitude. Indigo repairs the mechanism (12 + 15) to get access to the vat and Rev finds (19 + 14) the osteoderms which are identified by Keskkin (16 + 15). They do not promise Voxel any signed paperwork, feeling that such a thing is outside their authority, so they miss the chance at free grenades. They talk briefly with Waneda again who reiterates the name and location of Xerantha and Keskkin asks the group to adjourn to their room for a conference. He voices his suspicion that this is all a little too convenient. He wonders if there is someone farther behind the scenes manipulating Xerantha herself or ordering her to do these things in order to throw the group off their purpose. The evidence feels ‘forced’ or overly convenient, he says. They came to find out where the Corpse Fleet went from the Diaspora, not police them or clean up their messes. But since he has nothing beyond a ‘gut feeling’, he’s not sure what else to do before pursuing Xerantha. He does tell them he’s going to be stingy with his spells until after dealing with Xerantha.
DM NOTE: Keskkin has probably played too many Paizo adventures, and maybe this is a tad meta-gamey, but he portrays it well within character so I don’t worry over it too much. I’m honestly a little surprised at how close to the truth he is, but he’s always been pretty sharp on picking out details.
H. Marrowblight’s Hermitage
I add four different location descriptions to the trip, including the Skullcap Gorge. Each time the party expects an encounter, but I do not use any along the way.
H1. Desiccated Garden
DM NOTE: I am amused by the notes here… a gargantuan creature with +0 Dex and no ranks in Stealth is going to try and surprise the party? Seriously?
[
PC Init : Blackhand 25, Keskkin 19, Indigo 17, Rev 13
NPC Init 13
Round 1
The party spots the the creature come around the hut from the southeast and it is 60 feet away
Blackhand enters Photon mode, moves 35 feet, and then uses Stellar Rush to attack (11 + 13) hitting for (7 + 12 + 1) 20 damage and also rolls (13
+ 7) against the Radiation while taking 7 damage
Keskkin casts a 2nd level Mind Thrust for (10 + 9 + 6 + 9) 34 damage and Trampleram rolls (4 + 8) on the save
DM NOTE: Everyone laughs at Keskkin after his speech about conserving resources and he points out the thing is really, really big
Indigo shoots (14 + 10) and hits for (6 + 6 + 6) 18 damage
Drone shoots (12 + 7) and misses
Rev came in with her Disruptor pistol and wants to switch, so she sheaths it and draws the arc pistol
Trampleram uses Soul Drain on Blackhand for (5 + 6 + 1 + 9) 21 damage who rolls (20 + 7) on the Fortitude save
Round 2
Blackhand uses Plasma Sheath, rolls (19 + 7) against the Radiation, attacks (13 + 13) and hits for (5 + 12 + 3 + 1) 21
Keskkin shoots (9 + 10) and misses
Indigo shoots (16 + 10) and hits for (6 + 5 + 6) 17 points
Drone shoots (8 + 7) and misses
Rev attempts Trick Attack, moves 5 feet, rolls Stealth (15 + 20), attacks (20 + 11) and crits! for (6 + 3 + 1 + 3 + 4 + 6 + 3 + 1 + 6 + 6) 39 damage
DM NOTE: So apparently Blackhand takes 2 damage from the Critical effect
Trampleram uses Soul Drain on Blackhand for (2 + 1 + 6 + 9) 18 damage and Blackhand rolls (9 + 7) on the Fortitude save
Round 3
Blackhand rolls (4 + 7) against the Radiation, failing and becoming Weakened and taking 7 more damage, attacks (3 + 13) but misses
Keskkin shoots (20 + 10) and crits! for (7 + 1) 8 damage and burning
Indigo shoots (19 + 10) and hits for (4 + 5 + 6) 15 damage
]
The party takes a breather in front of the shack with both Rev and Blackhand restoring stamina before they enter.
H2. Skin Shack
[
PC Init : Indigo 24, Keskkin 23, Rev 15, Blackhand 10
NPC Init 20
Blackhand moves to the center of the shack before the other three quickly move in behind him, and then they all make their Perception rolls
Perception: Indigo 21, Keskkin 22, Rev 26
Surprise Round
DM NOTE: The shack is 90 feet across and the descriptions says Xerantha is hiding “hiding in the back”. Blackhand in the middle is the only viable
target for the described pounce tactics, but even then, it can’t be done during a Surprise round as it would require a Move and Standard.
Xerantha shoots at Blackhand (10 + 12) and misses
Rev moves 50 feet along the wall to the right of the door
Round 1
Indigo moves 60 feet along the wall to the left of the door
The Drone moves 30 feet following Indigo’s path
Keskkin moves 50 feet to wind up next to Rev
Xerantha moves out of cover and Pounces at Blackhand who rolls (3 + 5) on the save
Rev attempts Trick Attack, does not move, rolls Stealth (5 + 20) which fails, attacks (18 + 11) and hits for (6 + 3) 9 damage
Blackhand enters Photon mode, uses Plasma Sheath, attacks (8 + 13 - 2) which misses thanks to off-target
Round 2
Indigo moves 30 more feet and shoots (12 + 10) and hits for (5 + 4 + 6) 15 damage
The Drone moves 30 feet
DM NOTE: I have scattered furniture in the room which is causing Rev, Indigo and Keskkin to maneuver for a clear shot
Keskkin casts Shooting Stars as a full round action for (2 + 1 + 4 + 3) 10 damage
Xerantha multiattacks Blackhand with a claw (2 + 12) which misses and a spur (12 + 12) which also misses
Rev attempts Trick Attack, does not move, rolls Stealth (17 + 20), attacks (10 + 11), hitting for (6 + 3 + 1 + 6 + 6) 22 damage
Blackhand attacks (4 + 13) which misses
Round 3
Indigo uses Overcharge and shoots (18 + 10) and hits for (6 + 5 + 6 + 5) 22 damage
Drone shoots (19 + 7) and hits for (8 + 5 + 6) 19 damage
Keskkin shoots (14 + 10) hitting for (5) 5 points
Xerantha attacks with a spur (15 + 17) and hits for (4 + 12) 16 damage and Blackhand rolls (4 + 7) on the Fortitude save
Rev attempts Trick Attack, does not move, rolls Stealth (13 + 20), attacks (2 + 11) but misses
Blackhand attacks (12 + 13) and hits for (4 + 12 + 3 + 1) 20 damage
]
Keskkin attempts to use the spell gem of remove affliction on Blackhand and rolls (4 + 6) vs a DC of 9 and the rolls (16 + 6) against the red ache DC of 15 + 4 to cure it. Blackhand also restores stamina at this time as well while Rev and Indigo search the hut. Rev finds the bag of cred sticks and Indigo hacks into the computer. Keskkin utters a “told you so” when they learn about Vesh. And here we come to an important point… the party has enough XP to level… do I let them level before the final fight or no? They have been fairly dominant so far, so I opt to not let them this time.
I. Skullcap Gorge
[
Blackhand gets super excited when he sees the initial setup and number of opponents. The party soon gets lost in discussing how they want to tackle the
combat. Well, Blackhand and Indigot discuss it while Rev and Keskkin mostly wait for it to start.
PC Init : Indigo 26, Rev 24, Blackhand 21, Keskkin 19
NPC Init 23, 20, 19, 10, 22, 13
Round 1
Indigo uses Overcharge and shoots BT 3 (9 + 10) and hits for (6 + 2 + 6 + 6) 20 damage
Drone shoots BT 3 (16 + 7) and hits for (8 + 1 + 6) 15 points
Rev uses Trick Attack, moves 30 feet straight north (to get out of Zeera’s line of sight), rolls Stealth (15 + 20), shoots BT 1 (6 + 12) and hits for (6 +
3 + 4 + 6 + 5) 24 damage
BT 1 casts supercharge weapon
BT 5 casts supercharge weapon
Blackhand enters Photon mode, uses Plasma Sheath, uses Stellar Charge, attacks Zeera (19 + 13) and hits for (3 + 12 + 3 + 1) 19 damage
DM NOTE: Do not use my interpretation of the setup. Put Zeera halfway up the stairs so she’ll live longer and not be within an initial
Charge
BT 2 casts supercharge weapon
Keskkin casts Shooting Stars as a full round action at BT 1 for (3 + 2 + 3 + 3) 11 damage
BT 5 casts supercharge weapon
Zeera takes a guarded step up one stair and shoots at Blackhand (20 + 14) and crits! for (5 + 2 + 6 + 8 + 2 + 6) 29 damage
DM NOTE: Finally, the DM dice make things interesting
Round 2
Indigo uses Overcharge and shoots BT 4 (5 + 10) and hits for (3 + 5 + 6 + 4) 18 damage
Drone shoots BT 4 (9 + 7) and hits for (5 + 7 + 6) 18 damage as well
Rev uses Trick Attack, does not move, rolls Stealth (20 + 20), attacks BT 2 (11 + 11) and hits for (4 + 3 + 3 + 6 + 7) 23 points
BT 5 shoots at Indigo (16 + 9) and hits for (5 + 3 + 2 + 5 + 3) 18 damage
Blackhand moves 20 feet to end up adjacent to Zeera on the stairs, attacks (6 + 13) and hits for (4 + 12 + 3 + 1) 20 damage
BT 2 shoots at Rev (15 + 9) and hits for (2 + 2 + 2 + 3 + 3) 12 points
Keskkin casts Shooting Stars as a full round action at BT 2 for (3 + 3 + 3 + 3) 12 damage
Zeera heals 5 points, drops the rifle and takes a Claw swipe at Blackhand (3 + 14) and misses DM NOTE: Dang, I was rolling so well
Round 3
Indigo uses Overcharge and shoots BT 5 (9 + 10) and hits for (3 + 3 + 6 + 6) 18 damage
Drone shoots BT 5 (1 + 7) and misses
Rev uses Trick Attack, moves to the space where BT 1 started, rolls Stealth (12 + 20), attacks BT 5 (9 + 11) and hits for (1 + 3 + 2 + 1 + 1) 8 damage
BT 5 casts Magic Missile as a full round action at Indigo for (2 + 2 + 1 + 3) 8 damage
Blackhand attacks Zeera (11 + 13) and hits for (3 + 12 + 3 + 1) 19 damage
Keskkin casts Shooting Stars as a full round action at BT 5 for (4 + 2 + 4 + 3) 13 damage
Zeera heals 5 points, uses Trick Attack, does not move, rolls Bluff (11 + 19), attacks Blackhand with a Claw (14 + 14) and hits for (1 + 8 + 6 + 3 + 6)
24 damage, and the roll just barely meets the KAC + 4 threshold as well triggering Drain Chi but Blackhand rolls (19 + 7) on the save
Round 4
Indigo moves 30 feet to the southeast to get a shot at Zeera and uses Overcharge (9 + 10) and hits for (4 + 3 + 6 + 6) 19 points
Drone moves adjacent to Indigo
Rev uses Trick Attack, moves 50 feet east, rolls Stealth (9 + 20), attacks (20 + 11) which crits! (even with cover) for (6 + 3 + 5 + 3 + 1 + 2 + 4 + 8 + 3
+ 8) 43 damage and… the laughable part… the arc crit effect jumps to Blackhand dealing 2 damage… so the first point of real damage to
the party comes from friendly fire! :P
]
“Good fight,” says Blackhand happily slamming his hand on the table, “but it was still barely more than 3 rounds, and if not for that crit, you would still not have done any HP damage to us.”
It takes the party a couple of days to obtain a tier 3 computer and hack the data module Zeera was carrying. While doing that, they also level and improve their ship yet again.
We review the module again…
This one was better than the last one, says Keskkin, and everyone agrees. Indigo again enjoyed the ship battles and improving the ship, but we both wonder if the fights are tuned correctly with those improvements. Rev tells me I did a good job with Alera and hopes more of the villains become more memorable. She’s not enthused by the undead as the opposition as they tend to be fairly one dimensional. Everyone else agrees, saying that the undead aren’t a good opponent for a space setting. They talk about this for some time, with everyone agreeing the initial drift dead was kind of cool, but then things got amped up by the ambassador and the corpse fleet involvement. Rev did enjoy being the Diplomat on the planet and admits she took “being nice to the undead” as a challenge. As the DM, I think the group is suffering from over-saturation of undead. Too many TV shows, movies, and novels that involve undead in one form or another and it’s starting to become boring and predicatable. The group found the asteroid surface to be typical of that sort of thing in an adventure, but they liked the eerie, mostly empty cultist base.
The group liked the NPC personalities on Eox for the most part, so I think I did a little better with this module. I did have a little bit more preparation for this one though. Most of the group enjoyed the detective work in the story, with the exception of Blackhand. But he was ok with it because he got to beat up on known Corpse Fleet officers. Everyone was creeped about by the Necrografts and they did not choose to purchase any while on the planet. Blackhand is encouraged by the final fight of this module and he looks forward to more fights with larger numbers of opponents. He has hopes that the fights will become a little more tactical and require some tougher choices than what they’ve done so far. But he remains unconvinced that the ‘fights are longer’ claim is carrying any weight in general in Starfinder.
A question for any other DMs out there. During the course of the first shopping trip we realized we misunderstood Fusions... or we didn't realize that Seals were different from Fusions in the beginning. Now, the party seems to ignore seals entirely. Blackhand ran some math and determined that buying a Fusion for a level 1 item and then transferring it via Engineering or Mysticism to a higher level item is cheaper than buying a Fusion for the higher level item outright. I assume this is intended by the game designers? The party is now hanging on to low level items they can use to apply fusions to and then transfer them. The oddest part I find with this is the time however. A seal requires a full 24 hours to work when applied to a new weapon, but transferring a normal Fusion takes only 10 minutes.
Thank you for this. I really appreciate the detail of the notes. It'll be a big help when I run it. It's also nice to see that the game isn't strictly going to be 6+ round slugfests every combat.
I do have a couple questions for you. I noticed that one (or more) of your party members is using a disintegrator. I was going to go into the AP with a rule that noone in my group could use anything from an AP until the AP was completed (to keep temptation from reading the AP in advance to a minimum). Were you using a similar rule? I know the disintegrator is in some of the loot from AP2, I was just curious how other DM's were handling stuff like that (especially since the disintegrators are so awesome).
I also noticed you had some concerns about the marrowblight's pounce ability. We've always played that charge attacks (and special abilities based on charge attacks) were available in surprise rounds. I'm pretty sure that's not a house rule for d20/PF and that's how it's supposed to work, but now that I'm pressed I can't recall for sure. I kind of assumed that was the norm in SF as well, is this not the case?
Good catch on the fusion costs. I just ran the math, and yes it's cheaper to put the fusions on a low-level item first then transfer it for most item levels. It isn't always though. For example if you put a level 2 fusion on a level 2 item first, then move it to a level 4 item, it ends up costing your 20 extra credits over just putting it on the level 4 item (700 vs 680). I think they meant for it to be 150% of the new item level fusion, but that's totally a guess on my part. That's something that probably needs to be FAQ'd, since everything else indicates that you aren't supposed to be able to gimmick cheaper items.
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Thank you for this. I really appreciate the detail of the notes. It'll be a big help when I run it. It's also nice to see that the game isn't strictly going to be 6+ round slugfests every combat.
It has been the opposite for my group. Very few fights last more than 3 full rounds. For a game featuring guns, there have been few open spaces and few areas utilizing cover.
I do have a couple questions for you. I noticed that one (or more) of your party members is using a disintegrator. I was going to go into the AP with a rule that noone in my group could use anything from an AP until the AP was completed (to keep temptation from reading the AP in advance to a minimum). Were you using a similar rule? I know the disintegrator is in some of the loot from AP2, I was just curious how other DM's were handling stuff like that (especially since the disintegrators are so awesome).
It's just one character, and I don't feel the weapon is all that special. It's a 2 point damage difference between the disintegrator and the arc pistol, and 3 points when compared to a starting laser pistol. It was found as loot in the module, so we are using it. I only change loot when I feel something is going to go completely unused, and usually only where it makes sense. The biggest limiting factor of the disintegrator is the short range, and admittedly, I think we've let a few shots go that should have had range increment penalties. It also uses two charges per shot and has no critical effect. Also, it's a level 6 weapon, same as the Corona pistol. The Corona pistol has the same average damage, longer range, only uses a single charge, and has a critical effect. It also costs 230c less, though that's minor. Since the Operative is the one using the gun, it's base damage has quickly become irrelevant compared to the Trick Attack damage. She's actually annoyed that she has to tote around 3 weapons (laser for long range, arc for most times, disintegrator when up close) and doesn't like the return of the whole "golf bag" thing from previous games/versions.
I also noticed you had some concerns about the marrowblight's pounce ability. We've always played that charge attacks (and special abilities based on charge attacks) were available in surprise rounds. I'm pretty sure that's not a house rule for d20/PF and that's how it's supposed to work, but now that I'm pressed I can't recall for sure. I kind of assumed that was the norm in SF as well, is this not the case?
I think you misread my concern. The starting range was 45 feet between the marrowblight and our Solarian. The Pounce ability is indeed a standard action and useable during a surprise round. But it only covers 15 feet. The creature would have needed to move 30 feet, then Pounce to pull off that sort of attack, which would not be possible in a surprise round (move + standard)
Good catch on the fusion costs. I just ran the math, and yes it's cheaper to put the fusions on a low-level item first then transfer it for most item levels. It isn't always though. For example if you put a level 2 fusion on a level 2 item first, then move it to a level 4 item, it ends up costing your 20 extra credits over just putting it on the level 4 item (700 vs 680). I think they meant for it to be 150% of the new item level fusion, but that's totally a guess on my part. That's something that probably needs to be FAQ'd, since everything else indicates that you aren't supposed to be able to gimmick cheaper items.
The real strangeness there to me is that Fusion Seals are described like they are supposed to be the more convenient option. But the 24 hour delay, increased cost, *and* the fact that none of my players can think of a situation where they would need to swap a seal to a *lower* level weapon than what they bought it for means they're completely ignoring them as a purchase option. From their perspective, you are simply better off buying a normal, cheaper Fusion for the lower level weapon and moving them via a Skill (which doesn't even require any actual check/roll) is way more convenient. I guess they are nice as found loot, since you can give them a "high level" thing that they can use on a lower level item if they choose to. But there are only 5 fusions above level 5 in the book. <shrug>
They hadn't found the level 2/4 cost change yet since most of their time was spent on Hybridized fusions so far.
It's just one character, and I don't feel the weapon is all that special.
I mostly meant that as a generic question, like, "how far out on a limb am I with this 'rule' of not letting players use stuff from AP until the AP is done?"
Though, I do appreciate the critique of the weapon. I just remembered the d20 damage dice on some of them and assumed they were good, I should have double-checked, the gun was just what reminded me of the rule I was considering and wanted another DM's opinion.
I think you misread my concern. The starting range was 45 feet between the marrowblight and our Solarian. The Pounce ability is indeed a standard action and useable during a surprise round. But it only covers 15 feet. The creature would have needed to move 30 feet, then Pounce to pull off that sort of attack, which would not be possible in a surprise round (move + standard)
Sorry, was AFB and assumed pounce was the same as it is in PF/d20 (full attack on a charge). Is there no way in that section of the combat to keep the marrowblight hiding until someone moves within 15ft? It's riskier for the marrowblight, but that might be how I'd try playing it.
The real strangeness there to me is that Fusion Seals are described like they are supposed to be the more convenient option. But the 24 hour delay, increased cost, *and* the fact that none of my players can think of a situation where they would need to swap a seal to a *lower* level weapon than what they bought it for means they're completely ignoring them as a purchase option.
Unless there's something I'm missing, I think a developer botched his math roll or something. I think moving fusions was meant to be more expensive than moving fusion seals, but that's just a guess on my part. Otherwise, you're right, what the hell is the point of the fusion seal.
I mostly meant that as a generic question, like, "how far out on a limb am I with this 'rule' of not letting players use stuff from AP until the AP is done?"
In my experience (both as a DM and a player) treasure is usually the first thing a DM modifies to suit his group. You aren't far out on a limb at all in my opinion. No one has asked (yet) about other Disruptor weapons, so I do not know if I will open them up to general purchase. However, Starfinder is taking a different approach to releasing material, so I don't see anything inherently bad in allowing those weapons now that they are published. If your players use a wiki, and they show up there, you'll have a harder time discouraging them. The higher level weapons may be a bit more powerful, but I haven't done any comparison on them yet to the weapons in the core book.
Is there no way in that section of the combat to keep the marrowblight hiding until someone moves within 15ft? It's riskier for the marrowblight, but that might be how I'd try playing it.
One of my players made the Perception roll to detect the marrowblight per the text. A DM can certainly play that detection differently, but bear in mind the creature has no ranks in Stealth and probably isn't going to continue trying to hide while someone that heard it moves in to investigate and/or start shooting. I chose to attack hoping to take advantage of those that were still unaware. But the dice don't always cooperate with intent. :)
Cool briefing.
One thing about sniping:
The - 20 is brutal, yes. But PC get - 1 to perception for every 10 feet. Sniping at real sniping range is fairly easy
Very much appreciate the write-up and notes as I'm preparing my game. Thanks!